ALBANY – The state Republican Party’s top lawyer yesterday apologized for assaulting his wife and said he’s getting “professional help” in hopes of putting “this situation behind me.”

Jeffrey Buley, 44 – who was arrested after he allegedly choked and punched his wife, Cheryl Ritchko-Buley, 40, in a drunken rage – said he was “truly sorry for any harm or embarrassment which I may have caused my family, friends and colleagues.

“With the help and support of my wife, family and friends, I have recognized issues which have troubled me personally,” said Buley, who also works as a Capitol lobbyist and is one of the best-known figures in state GOP politics.

“More than four weeks ago, I sought professional help and look to the successful completion of a recovery program so that I may put this situation behind me,” added Buley, a top adviser to Gov. Pataki.

Buley’s statement came a day after The Post disclosed that he was busted last month in Bethlehem, an Albany suburb, after his wife – a $101,000-a-year member of the state Racing and Wagering Board – had filed a detailed complaint with police.

Mrs. Buley – in a statement made under penalty of perjury – said her husband had been drunk and abusive at their home close to midnight, and “did escalate the incident by putting your deponent in a headlock and subsequently punch your deponent in the face with an open hand.”

Mrs. Buley told The Post that she was “trying to work things out” with her husband and that she would seek court approval to dismiss the charge before the case is slated to go to trial on Jan. 4.